The Lost Sword

by Huw Powell

  “What do you think?” asked Scargus.

  Jake couldn’t believe it was the same pile of junk. It was . . . beautiful.

  “It’s magnifty,” he said. “A work of art.”

  Scargus beamed. “I smoothed the edges and sprayed it gold before rubbing it in engine oil and boot polish to make it look old.”

  “Where did you get the fur trimming?” asked Jake, taking the crown and examining it.

  Scargus looked embarrassed and pointed at his bushy beard, which was a lot shorter than usual.

  “Come on, we don’t have much time,” said Granny Leatherhead. “This whole area is going to be flooded with naval warships.”

  Jake, Kella, and Nanoo said their good-byes and followed Vigor-8 aboard Rusty’s Revenge. It felt strange to leave the Space Dogs after everything they had been through together. Jake turned to catch a final glimpse of his shipmates as the air-lock door shut. Why did everything have to end with a closing door? If he ever returned to Altus, he vowed to remove the doors in his mansion, so people could come and go when they pleased.

  As the three of them left the air lock and entered the converted space tug, Nanoo passed a small bundle to Jake.

  “I make something for you to wear at gathering,” he said. “It what I’ve been working on in engine room.”

  Jake unfolded a strange-looking blue waistcoat, which could have easily been made by a toddler using wrapping paper. It wafted weightlessly in the zero gravity, while rows of little blue squares shimmered in the light. Kella looked as though she were suppressing a laugh.

  “It’s very . . . unique,” said Jake, hoping that Nanoo didn’t expect him to wear it in front of the other leaders.

  Nanoo pointed at the untidy stitching. “It not easy to make and I not good at sewing.”

  “No kidding,” said Jake. “That’s kind of you, shipmate, but I already have something to wear at the gathering.”

  “Yes, I know. This vest go under uniform,” explained Nanoo.

  “It looks a bit scratchy for a vest,” commented Kella.

  “Not any vest,” said Nanoo. “It a laserproof vest.”

  “No way.” Jake was suddenly a lot more interested in the waistcoat. “You made me a laserproof vest?”

  “It deflect laser from pistol and rifle, but not cannon,” said Nanoo.

  “You’re a genius.” Jake held it up against his body. “But what makes you think I need protection?”

  Nanoo shrugged. “Maybe some leaders want to have war with United Worlds.”

  Kella eyed the vest curiously. “What if they shoot him in the head?”

  It took Rusty’s Revenge less than two days to reach Santanova. The Hacker Jackers were not as wanted as the Space Dogs, meaning they could take a more direct route while still avoiding the Interstellar Navy. Jake had spent the voyage finishing his speech and talking with the crew. Nanoo had even managed to fix some of their damaged parts.

  There wasn’t much food aboard the ship, unless you counted spare batteries and engine oil. Kella had packed a few space biscuits in her bag, which kept them going the first day. However, by the time Rusty’s Revenge reached the fourth solar system, the three of them were ravenous.

  A couple of ex–house robots had constructed beds for them, but they were hard and uncomfortable. Jake had found it impossible to sleep anyway because of worrying about the gathering. His mind often wandered to Callidus, Capio, and the Space Dogs. What would happen to them if war broke out?

  Santanova was the largest and wealthiest independent colony in the galaxy. It had even more crystals than Reus, in the seventh solar system. Altus was a lot smaller than both of these planets, but its three crystal moons meant that it was worth more than Santanova and Reus put together. Jake wondered how the prime minister of Santanova would react when she found out that Altus was real.

  As they entered the fourth solar system, Jake, Kella, and Nanoo were summoned to the bridge. Vigor-8 stood by the front window, bathed in light from the huge red sun, which glinted off its chipped chest plate like flecks of blood. A few ex–house robots scurried around the room while a multilimbed maintenance droid piloted the ship. Jake spotted a planet covered in yellow and orange swirls, orbited by a single black moon.

  “Santanova,” announced Vigor-8. “One of the oldest and most respected independent colonies in the seven solar systems.”

  “It huge,” said Nanoo. “I never see such a big world.”

  “How will we get past the planetary guard?” asked Jake, noticing clusters of fighter craft in a low orbit.

  The United Worlds were not welcome at the gathering, and the Interstellar Navy would be kept out at all costs.

  “This is as far as we can take you,” said Vigor-8. “There is too much security for us to land on the surface.”

  “How will we get to the gathering?” asked Jake.

  “Escape pod.”

  “Pardon?”

  “There are two escape pods aboard this ship,” said Vigor-8. “You can have one of them. It will be programmed to land in the space docks outside Lugar. From there, you can catch a hover-train into the city.”

  “But we don’t have any money,” said Kella.

  Vigor-8 stalked over to a large chest at the rear of the bridge and flipped it open. Inside were enough gold and jewels to make Granny Leatherhead’s eye pop out. The robot captain rammed its hand inside the chest and pulled out a fistful of crystals.

  “Is this sufficient?”

  All three of them nodded. It was probably enough to hire the whole train.

  Chapter 21

  Santanova

  Jake, Kella, and Nanoo collected their things and met Vigor-8 by a circular hatch on the side of the ship. The robot captain opened it to reveal a small capsule with padded walls and a porthole window.

  “Thanks again,” said Jake, holding out his hand. “We owe you our lives.”

  Vigor-8 took the hand and squeezed it with cold metal fingers. “Good luck, Jake Cutler.”

  The three of them stepped inside the escape pod and secured their straps. Jake glanced out of the window and saw a stream of spacecraft heading to Santanova. His eyes scanned the planet’s surface until he found the largest city, Lugar, where he would deliver his speech. It seemed a long way down.

  Vigor-8 sealed the hatch and activated the launch sequence. Jake, Kella, and Nanoo checked their straps and braced themselves. A second later, docking clamps released, and the escape pod fired into space like a spinning cannonball. Jake was thrown back in his seat as they hurtled toward the planet’s surface. His body grew heavier with the effects of gravity, and wisps of atmosphere licked the window.

  “How we steer this thing?” asked Nanoo.

  “We don’t,” said Jake. “It’s programmed to land in the space docks.”

  “Is it me, or is it getting hot in here?” asked Kella.

  “That because we entering planet atmosphere,” said Nanoo. “You not normally feel it, because ship hulls are thicker.”

  The escape pod tore into clear skies, and the temperature dropped. A small blue light flashed, and short bursts of thrust slowed their descent. Jake caught sight of the busy space docks below. He hoped that the Hacker Jackers had picked a quiet spot for them to land.

  “Here we go,” he said. “Hold on tight.”

  Jake felt the thruster jets fire in full, but the escape pod was still falling fast. The space docks seemed to rise up to meet them until . . . crash! Jake, Kella, and Nanoo were thrown around in their seats as the capsule hit the ground and rolled thirty yards before colliding with the outer dock wall.

  Jake hung upside down in his seat, his body bruised and his head spinning. Kella and Nanoo moaned with pain as they crawled from the battered escape pod. Jake joined them and saw that they had touched down behind one of the largest docking terminals. He doubted their arrival had been unnoticed.

  “Let’s move,” he said. “Before someone discovers the escape pod.”

  The space docks were b
y far the cleanest that Jake had ever visited. How grubby Rusty’s Revenge would have looked next to the more luxurious vessels. Jake reached into his bag and pulled out Maaka’s sunglasses, which he had borrowed to conceal his purple eye implants.

  “I can’t believe that we’re actually here,” said Kella. “I’ve always wanted to see Santanova.”

  Nanoo rubbed his stomach. “Let us get food.”

  The three of them made their way to the main terminal, where they used their crystals to buy stellar-burgers. There were no smugglers or pirates in the space docks, only crowds of independent colonists from across the seven solar systems. Jake even spotted a couple of cyber-monks in gray, hooded robes. The atmosphere felt warm and friendly, like a festival.

  Nanoo attracted a few odd looks because of his lilac skin, but he didn’t seem to mind. All three of them were just glad to be somewhere with real food and fresh air. A man with a heavily scarred face almost tripped over when he saw them. Jake wondered if people could tell they were space pirates.

  “We should book transportation to Lugar,” suggested Kella.

  “Good idea,” said Jake. “And get a hotel room. I could do with a shower and some sleep before the gathering.”

  Jake wanted to look his best in case his father was watching the Interstellar News. He also wanted somewhere quiet to send Hector Rumpole an e-comm.

  “Where we meet Callidus and Capio?” asked Nanoo.

  “I don’t know,” said Jake. “I haven’t heard anything since they visited the asteroid miners.”

  Kella purchased three hover-train tickets to Lugar the next morning. It cost her half of the crystals to get a private compartment, but it was worth it, as most of the carriages were now fully booked. Kella then took Nanoo shopping for new clothes, so they didn’t look out of place when Jake put on his uniform.

  Jake waited for them in the hotel room. He used his handheld computer to send Hector Rumpole an e-comm, letting him know that they had arrived safely. After that, Jake lay on the soft bed to watch the Interstellar News. There were several shots of Santanova and of a meeting chamber full of seats. A reporter explained that this was where the gathering would be held the next morning. In front of each seat rested a small sign containing the name of an independent colony and its leader. The camera paused by a lone seat at the front of the room, which was reserved for the Ruler of Altus.

  “It’s good to know that the mayor of Remota has a sense of humor,” said the reporter. “Let’s hope the other leaders appreciate the joke tomorrow.”

  Jake groaned and turned off the display screen. Would people take him seriously when he took that seat in the morning? What if everyone laughed? At least there had been no mention of the Space Dogs or the Luna Ticks on the Interstellar News, which hopefully meant that they had evaded the naval warships.

  With a great effort, Jake forced himself off of the bed and into the bathroom to freshen up. It turned out to be the best shower he had taken since leaving Altus. He lingered under the hot water, sampling every gel and lotion provided. How different it was from the moldy bathrooms in the monastery where he had grown up.

  Had it been only four months since he’d left Remota? It seemed like a lifetime ago. All of those years studying in the tech library and sketching ships in the space docks were now distant memories. He was no longer the same innocent boy who had once dreamed of adventures in space. His eyes had been opened to a vast and dangerous universe.

  When he eventually turned off the shower, Jake heard an impatient buzzing sound. Was that the door? He wrapped a towel around his waist and rushed across the hotel room, but by the time he reached the videocom, the caller had gone. Jake spotted a piece of folded paper tucked under the door. It was a note addressed to him. He scooped it up and read:

  I have news about your father. Meet me at ten o’clock tomorrow morning in the main restaurant. I’ll be sitting at table six near the window. Come alone.

  —JD

  Water dripped on the floor as Jake read the note twice more, his hands trembling with excitement. Who was JD, and how did he or she know that Jake was staying in the space docks? If there was the slightest chance that he could get news about his father, then he wanted to meet this person.

  Jake dried himself and slipped on a hotel robe. He paced the room with the note clutched in his hand. What did it mean? Would the news be good or bad? Jake would have to wait until the morning to find out. If only he hadn’t been in the shower when JD had called. He glanced at a clock on the display screen and sighed.

  The videocom buzzed and Jake jumped in surprise. Had JD returned? He scrambled to open the door, his pulse racing.

  “Hello,” said Nanoo, standing in the corridor laden with shopping bags.

  “What’s that smell?” asked Kella. “Are you wearing aftershave?”

  Jake tried not to look disappointed to see his friends.

  Nanoo entered and whistled. “It nice room. I like big bed.”

  Kella and Nanoo dumped their bags while Jake checked the empty corrider and closed the door.

  “We’ve bought new outfits,” said Kella. “I can’t wait to get out of these old clothes.”

  “We also bring food.” Nanoo pointed to a couple of takeout cartons sticking out of one bag. “Kella, tell Jake about security.”

  “Oh yeah, there are planetary guards everywhere. It’s not going to be easy to catch the hover-train in the morning.”

  “It’ll be fine,” muttered Jake, distracted.

  Kella raised her eyebrows. “You’re the infamous Jake Cutler, notorious purple-eyed space pirate. How do you propose we sneak you and your golden cutlass past security? Not to mention a Novu alien and a United Worlds citizen.”

  “Hector Rumpole will sort it out. I sent him an e-comm.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “You okay, Jake?” asked Nanoo.

  Jake looked at them for a moment and then held up the piece of paper.

  “I received this note,” he said, handing it to them.

  Kella read the message. “Is this for real?” she asked. “Who is JD?”

  “No idea,” said Jake. “I don’t know anyone with those initials.”

  “What about that farmer on Altus?” she suggested.

  “John Daxton?” Jake recalled a timid man with a tall straw hat. “What would he be doing here?”

  Kella shrugged.

  “This could be trap,” said Nanoo. “How you know it safe?”

  Jake could not answer. There was no way of knowing if the note was genuine or a fortune-seeker trick, but it was a risk he was willing to take to find his father.

  Kella read the note again. “It says ten o’clock tomorrow morning, but your speech is at nine in Lugar.”

  “I know,” said Jake. “What am I going to do?”

  Kella frowned at him. “You have to be at the gathering. Who else can unite the independent colonies?”

  Jake snatched back the note. “But this JD might know where to find my dad. I may never get a chance like this again.”

  “There is not choice,” said Nanoo. “You must prevent galactic war.”

  Jake stared longingly at the piece of paper in his hand, but he knew they were right. It didn’t matter how much he wanted to meet JD; there was nothing more important than stopping the Interstellar Navy.

  “Okay,” he said, folding the note and tucking it into his pocket. “I’ll do my duty.”

  Jake climbed onto the bed to watch the Interstellar News while Kella and Nanoo busied themselves with the takeout. After they had eaten, Kella showered and Nanoo hung up his new clothes. Jake remained on the bed, nursing a bottle of apple juice. He couldn’t stop thinking about his father. If only there was a way he could both be at the gathering and meet JD.

  “You not practice speech?” asked Nanoo.

  “Hmm?” said Jake. “Oh, yeah, I’ll rehearse it later.”

  Kella came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, wearing hotel pajamas. Her hair was wrapped i
n a towel, and her cheeks were pink from the heat.

  “That felt so good,” she said. “I’ve washed half of the galaxy out of my hair.”

  Jake smiled. “I’d forgotten what you looked like under all that dirt.”

  Kella ignored him and perched on the edge of the bed. “Anything in the news?”

  Jake hadn’t really been paying attention. He quickly read the scrolling headline on the display screen.

  “The independent colony leaders are arriving in Lugar city ahead of the gathering.”

  “Do you recognize any of them?” she asked.

  “I doubt it.” Jake had never been that interested in galactic politics, though he had seen the president of Reus on the stellar-net a few times.

  “At least they’re smiling and waving,” she said.

  Jake spotted a man with a bulbous nose and ruddy cheeks. “Hey, that’s the mayor of Remota.”

  “You mean the one who looking worried?” asked Nanoo.

  Hector Rumpole did appear anxious as he stroked his walrus mustache. It must have taken a lot to arrange the gathering on short notice. If the plan failed, he would be held responsible. Jake suddenly appreciated how much the mayor was doing for him. Not many people would organize a major conference on the word of a thirteen-year-old space pirate.

  “We should get some rest,” said Kella. “It’s going to be a big day tomorrow.”

  Chapter 22

  The Gathering

  It was several hours later when Jake woke with a start. His first thought was that they had overslept. He sat up and checked the clock on the display screen, but it was still early. Kella and Nanoo were fast asleep on each side of him.

  Jake lay back down and thought about the note from JD. If the stranger had nothing to hide, why ask him to come alone? On the other hand, if it was a trap, why meet in the main restaurant? Jake figured that JD would explain everything when they met, except they weren’t going to meet. Not unless there was a way for Jake to stay in the space docks and at the same time make his speech in Lugar city.

  Unable to sleep, Jake crawled out of bed and checked his handheld computer. Hector Rumpole had replied to the e-comm, but his response was short: